Malaysia Airlines is set to take delivery of its new Boeing 737-8 in August, following the jet's first flight test on 18 July.
9M-MVA is the first of 25 737-8s on order that are due to deliver through to 2026, the airline states. It signed long-term leases with Air Lease Corporation for these jets in February 2022. Fleets data shows that MSN 66439 is fitted with 174 seats and powered by CFM International Leap-1B engines. The Max narrowbodies are set to replace the ageing 737NG fleet across Malaysia Aviation Group, which constitute the largest proportion with 47 out of its 100-aircraft fleet. The 737-8 will also carry the airline’s wireless in-flight entertainment system, MHstudio, which is similar to the airline's refreshed 737-800s. Flightradar24 flight tracking data shows that on 17 July, 9M-MVA departed at 10:27 PDT from Renton Municipal Airport, where Boeing's 737 facility is located, and landed in Seattle at 13:08 PDT.

Korean Air will resume multiple services to China and Japan that were suspended due to the pandemic, as its ASK capacity on international routes reached about 82% of pre-Covid levels in July. The carrier will reinstate five weekly flights between Seoul Incheon and Changsha from 19 July, and thrice and four times weekly services to Wuhan and Weihai from 24 and 27 September, respectively. On its Japan network, the airline will resume services from Busan to Fukuoka and Nagoya on 27 September, operating twice daily and daily, respectively. "Korean Air is also expanding its international flight operations to meet rising international travel demand through flight frequency increases. Starting from July, the airline has increased frequencies and reinstated flights on its extensive global network,” it says. In July, flights on the Seoul Incheon-Ulaanbaatar route will be increased from seven to eight times a week, and to 10 weekly flights for August. The airline in July also boosted flights between Seoul Incheon and Sapporo from seven to 11 times a week, and to Bali from nine to 11 times a week by the end of August. On its North American network, Korean Air has increased the number of flights between Seoul Incheon and Chicago to seven times a week from five, to Dallas from four to five times a week and to San Francisco from seven to nine times per week. In Europe, the airline has increased flight frequencies on the Incheon-Frankfurt route from five to seven times a week, and on the Incheon-Milan route from three to four times a week.

Pilots at United Airlines, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), have reached an agreement in principle (AIP) with the Chicago-based airline's management. "This landmark agreement marks a significant milestone for United pilots and includes substantial improvements to compensation, as well as advancements in quality of life, vacation, and other benefits," ALPA states. The AIP will result in approximately $10 billion in value over the life of the contract, ALPA adds. "Items included in the comprehensive and robust package are improvements to critical aspects such as quality of work-life, compensation, job security, work rules, retirement, benefits, and more," it says. In the weeks ahead, negotiators will work to complete the final language, ALPA says. Once completed, the United Master Executive Council (MEC) will subsequently review the language and vote to determine if the AIP becomes a tentative agreement, which would then be distributed to the entire pilot group for membership ratification, "ensuring that every pilot has a voice and the opportunity to shape their future". ALPA says that in the coming weeks, the United MEC will continue to distribute additional pilot communications, providing "comprehensive information and addressing questions or concerns ahead of the MEC's deliberations". Garth Thompson, chair of the United ALPA MEC, states: "This agreement in principle could not have happened without the steadfast resolve of the 16,000 United pilots. The tireless dedication demonstrated by United pilots over the past several years ensured our solidarity which was instrumental in achieving this historic agreement." Last year, United's pilots voted to reject a tentative agreement on terms for a new contract nearly six months after their union had first signed an agreement in principle. United Airlines forecasts that, including its recruiting efforts begun last year, it is on track to add 50,000 new employees through 2026, including pilots. The US major hired more than 2,300 pilots in 2022, an 85% increase versus 2021. It plans to add around the same number in 2023. Earlier this year, pilots at Delta Air Lines approved a new contract, which was effective 2 March and includes more than $7 billion in cumulative pay increases over four years. That agreement runs through December 2026. More recently, in May, American Airlines and its pilots represented by the Allied Pilots Association (APA) came to an in principle agreement on a new four-year collective bargaining agreement.